Pension reforms would risk system, premier says

The KMT’s amendment would freeze the drop in the income replacement ratio for civil servants that has been implemented for five years in a row

A civil servant pension reform plan proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers would destabilize the current system and put government workers at greater financial risk, Premier Chen Chienjen (陳建仁) said yesterday,

Chen made the statement before attending the opening ceremony of the Global Cooperation and Training

Framework’s International Workshop on Combating Cross-Border Fraud, in response to media queries for comment on the amendment to the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) proposed by the KMT caucus.

The proposed amendment would freeze this year’s decrease in the income replacement ratio for retired teachers and government workers.

The ratio has been reduced for five consecutive years.

Chen said he respects lawmakers’ rights to propose amendments but added: “I want to remind them that it is not easy to build a good pension fund system. The pension fund reform we proposed was accepted by all, and we have adjusted retirement fund payments for retirees based on the changes of the consumer price index each year.”

“We hope that the amendments proposed by KMT lawmakers will not destabilize the current pension fund system, which would put retired civil servants, teachers and military personnel at greater financial risk,” he said. “That would be the last thing anyone wants to see.”

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) pushed for a reform of the pension fund system for civil servants, teachers and military personnel when she took office in 2016, Chen said, adding that the goal is a sustainable system in which retirees can continue receiving retirement funds while they are alive.

“We want to thank all the government workers and teachers who support the pension fund reform, which helps preserve the system,” he said.